Saturday, June 7, 2014

Railroad Weed Control And The Benefits Achieved

By Sally Delacruz


Overgrown weeds and trees can bring lot of inconvenience or be an eyesore. In the railroads industry such are an operational and safety issue requiring measure. The operators can lose visibility or reduce it therefore posing fire hazard or even coming in contact with the overhead catenary lines and in return causing passenger train to delay. Railroad weed control is a very important operation as the vegetation growing on the track bed causes difficulties in inspection of track.

When the weeds have overgrown, they make it difficult for maintainers to easily see broken railroad. There are automated equipment, switch heaters, which in such a case cannot work effectively. Several programs have been initiated in a bid to control the dangers coming up from the overgrown vegetable. The sprouted weeds are therefore killed by using such programs keeping control of bushes and trees. It is not easy to make this work but not impossible. The use of mechanical cutting as a method and spraying of herbicides come in to help the situation.

In the past there have been few methods which were initiated to handle this issue. Water was used, this was through mounting a machine to a truck. The mounted machine poured scalding water over the tracks killing any vegetables on the way. Flaming which involved outfitting a vehicle with weed burners. The burners like nozzles directed fierce flames on the track, searing any vegetation.

To have a stable foundation of railroad is recommended. There is minimal time used in the journey and the passengers are comfortable maintaining their safety. Since time immemorial the railroad has never been put on the limelight according it the required attention. Accidents are reduced by the practice of controlling weeds and cutting down of overgrown trees.

The railroad companies have been securing quite an amount on track maintenance and compliance. An example of such programs is the Amtrak which was valued to consume about $2.2 million yearly. In areas where the engineers are operating at a speed of 150 mph, they need clear line of sight. If interrupted at such speed would cause accidents which could have been avoided.

With technological advancements, methods of controlling weeds in railroads have also integrated to higher levels. The contractors use herbicides on and off track in pre-emergent. This is between the third week of March as well as end of April. During the beginning of the month of June, post-emergent herbicide is sprayed with the intention of eliminating pesky plants that may have survived during the pre-emergent application.

Carrying out this particular activity has come with a dozen of advantages which include clearing of vegetation obscuring signs and signals that are used to warn the public. In addition their clearing has reduced the slippery conditions on crossings. There has been reduction of unnecessary fires. The bed integrity has been improved through the effective regular inspection.

The essentiality of these programs have been felt as they have helped in management of the vegetation. Through the use of current methods as well as techniques the process of maintaining the railroads eased.




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